The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (B)
Dear brothers and sisters,
Following
the horrific event that transpired in our nation’s Capitol this past Wednesday afternoon,
a good number of people are asking how it could have happened. And, depending
on an individual person’s political leanings, blame has been hurled in many different
directions. But the assigning of blame does not actually answer the question, “How
could this have happened?” This demonstrates that when they ask such a
question, they are not actually looking for the true answer to the question;
rather, they are simply seeking political points, as if that somehow helped the
situation.
The
fundamental answer to the question, “How could this have happened?,” is simple
and cuts to the core of our fallen human reality. It is an answer that almost
no one wants to talk about, even most religious leaders. The ultimate answer
is, quite simply, human sin. We like to think that if we just teach the right
thing in the right way, or if we create a new policy, or if we follow the
proper procedures, then evil deeds will simply disappear. We think all of this,
but we never really address the fundamental issue behind evil deeds; we never
address the fundamental issue of sin.
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church defines sin as “an offense against reason,
truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor
caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man
and injures human solidarity” (1849). Regardless of the motivation behind those
who committed such atrocious acts, it has to be said that was done was evil,
that what was done was sinful. Without question, the destruction and violence in
the Capital showed no real use of reason or right conscience; it was clearly a failure
of genuine love for God and for neighbor; and it certainly wounded human
solidarity.
By
entering the waters of the River Jordan to receive the baptism of John, Jesus “allows
himself to be numbered among sinners; he is already ‘the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sins of the world’ (John ).”[1] Though
he himself had no sins, Jesus accepted the baptism of John to show his solidarity
with us.
We
have received a baptism greater than that of John the Baptist, for we have been
baptized into the Death and Resurrection of Christ Jesus. The baptism of John
was an outward display of repentance, but it could not forgive sins; the Baptism
of Jesus is not only an outward display of repentance, but it also carries it
with the forgiveness of sins committed until that moment.
Through Baptism the Christian is sacramentally assimilated
to Jesus, who in his own baptism anticipates his death and resurrection. The
Christian must enter into this mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance,
go down into the water with Jesus in order to rise with him, be reborn of water
and the Spirit so as to become the Father’s beloved son in the Son and “walk in
newness of life (Romans 6:4).”[2]
What
we saw this past week was hardly Christians walking in newness of life.
If
you will allow me to say so, what we saw in our nation’s Capitol
is evidence of
a people not formed by the Gospel to think about the common good. And the
fractured, divisive, escalating tribalism and hatred between red and blue is
evidence of a people not formed in their hearts by the Prince of Peace. So is
the fracturing of the family, the sin of racism, the ubiquity of pornography,
the marginalization of the poor, and the death of the unborn.
Put more simply, if few of us
really know God, is it any wonder we treat each other so hellishly?[3]
All of this
demonstrates that our nation is thoroughly marked by sin. This sinfulness is
not found one side or the other; rather, it is found all around. And we cannot
forget that one sin does not – and cannot - justify another.
This weekend
brings to a close the liturgical season of Christmas as enter again into the
liturgical season of Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time is the liturgical season that
is not focused on one particular aspect of the life of Christ, as Christmas and
Easter are. Rather, Ordinary Time is given to us to reflect on the entire mystery
of the life of Christ.
If seems to me
that we can use these coming weeks before Lent to make a good examination of
conscience, to ask the Lord to help us see into the depths of our hearts. It
can be a time for us to question how much sinfulness still resides in our
hearts. It can be a time to consider how closely my heart resembles the Heart
of Christ. How often do we commit offenses against reason, truth, and right
conscience, which is to say, how often do we attempt to justify our thoughts
and actions when we know they do not conform to those of the Savior? How often
do we fail to love God and neighbor genuinely? How much more attached to temporal
goods are we than to spiritual goods? How often do we wound human solidarity by
insisting on dividing into camps?
We must beg
the Lord to root out these evils from our hearts so that we can truly walk in
newness of life and in fidelity to the Baptism we have received. This is the only
to heal our nation of its many ills. It cannot start with others; rather, it
must start with me and it must start with you. May the Holy Spirit assist us in
striving to conform ourselves to Christ Jesus so that the Father will be
well-pleased in us, his sons and daughters (cf. Mark 1:11). Amen.
[1] Catechism of the Catholic
Church, 536.
[2] Catechism of the Catholic
Church, 536.
[3] J.D. Flynn, “Proclaiming Christ in
fractured America: What are the Church’s priorities right now, and what do we believe?”,
The Pillar, 7 January 2021. Accessed 9 January 2021. Available at https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/proclaiming-christ-in-fractured-america?fbclid=IwAR3Hnlj68nwiks3u4lePqFpNwCMGnUsWbWLd1JzOM1eTnIfoaklySpDUpaA
